Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

This conversation is moderated according to USA TODAY's
community rules.
Please read the rules before joining the discussion.

Mom accused in freezer deaths lashes out in court

Elisha Anderson, Michigan.com
Published 12:12 p.m. ET April 8, 2015

Mitchelle Blair screams at Alexander Dorsey, right the father of two of her children, saying that he is a drunk during a court appearance where the state is seeking to terminate their parental rights at the Wayne County juvenile court in Detroit on Wednesday April 8, 2015.(Photo11: Romaine Blanquart/Detroit Free Press)

The mother accused of murdering two of her children had two outbursts in court today—one before the hearing started and the second in the middle of it, which resulted in her being briefly escorted by deputies from the Detroit courtroom.

As what type of visitation would be allowed with the fathers of Mitchelle Blair's two living children, ages 8 and 17, was discussed, Blair yelled "unsupervised?"

"He's never given a (expletive) about my daughter," she said during the hearing in Wayne County juvenile court. "Never. Never. You understand what I'm saying."

Alexander Dorsey, the father of Blair's teen, sat at the same table silently and she continued yelling at him.

Blair was told to stop, and when she didn't, several deputies gathered around her and escorted her from the courtroom. Blair yelled as she was escorted out and could be heard yelling once outside the courtroom.

A short time later, deputies allowed Blair to return and she remained quiet for the remaining part of the 13 minute hearing.

She called him an alcoholic during and earlier outburst.

Blair's children – Stoni Ann Blair and Stephen Gage Berry— were found in the freezer in the Martin Luther King Apartment by a crew handling an eviction there on March 24.

Stoni and Stephen were believed to have been ages 13 and 9 when they died.

State officials are now seeking to terminate Blair's parental rights to her other two children, as well as the parental rights of her children's fathers.

Blair has been charged with two counts each of felony murder, first-degree premeditated murder and torture in the deaths of Stoni and Stephen and also faces child abuse charges.

Dorsey, the father of Stoni and Blair's 17-year-old daughter, was in court, but Steven Berry, the father of Stephen and Blair's 8-year-old son, didn't show up until the end.

Both owe thousands of dollars in child support, according to a court document.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Edward Joseph continued an order requiring supervised visitation for the fathers, denying a request from attorneys for unsupervised visits.

"Each of them has only had one visit with their child," Joseph said, adding they can ask for unsupervised visits again after they have had more visits and he will consider it.

A trial in the case was scheduled for June 4 and will continue June 5 and June 11.

John Giancotti, who was there on behalf of the 8- and 17-year-old children, said he met with them and they "are doing well." He asked for educational tutoring services for the kids.

After the hearing, Berry declined to comment. Dorsey said Blair wouldn't let him see his kids and said he always wanted a relationship with them.

"I don't hate her," he said. "She's the mother of my children."

Dorsey's attorney, Adam Devlin, responded to allegations made by Blair during the hearing.

"It's her version of the story," he said.

According to a court document, Blair is accused of abusing Stephen before his death and, when he was found unresponsive on Aug. 30, 2012, put him in the freezer. Blair's 17-year-old told authorities that her mother strangled and suffocated Stoni on May 25, 2013, then made her put her sister in the freezer.

A joint funeral for Stoni and Stephen is scheduled Monday at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit.